On 10 July, His Excellency Chea Vandeth, Cambodia's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, was welcomed to Université Grenoble Alpes by President Yassine Lakhnech and representatives from the university's research, education and international affairs teams. The visit concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, providing a new framework for an already well-established partnership.
Beyond the agreement itself, the visit reflects a shared ambition to support the development of Cambodia's scientific and technological expertise in strategic areas that are key to the country's digital transformation.
It also builds on several years of collaboration between UGA and Cambodian institutions, recently reinforced by the President of Université Grenoble Alpes' visit to Cambodia. The objective is now to expand this cooperation through education, research and innovation projects that address Cambodia's growing needs in digital technologies.

Building on an established partnership

The signing of the MoU marks not the beginning of a relationship, but a new phase in a partnership that has steadily grown over the years.
Since 2018, Université Grenoble Alpes has been working closely with the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT). This collaboration has progressively expanded through scholarship programmes welcoming Cambodian students to Grenoble, joint activities in cybersecurity, and a range of academic and scientific exchanges.
UGA is also involved in a three-year capacity-building programme in electrical power systems alongside the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and Electricité du Cambodge, supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union.
These collaborations have already led to tangible results. During the 2025–2026 academic year, seven Cambodian students joined UGA for master's programmes or research internships.

Scaling up cooperation

The Memorandum of Understanding signed on 10 July will enable both partners to further expand their collaboration.
Initial activities will focus on artificial intelligence, data science and cybersecurity, with longer-term prospects in other strategic fields such as microelectronics, quantum technologies and space.
The agreement provides a framework for developing joint degree programmes, student and academic mobility, collaborative research projects, capacity-building initiatives and expert support for Cambodian institutions.
Its broader ambition is to strengthen the skills of Cambodian students, researchers, academics and engineers in key digital technologies.

Supporting the future National AI and Data Science Research Center

One of the partnership's major objectives is to contribute to the development of Cambodia's future National AI and Data Science Research Center.
Université Grenoble Alpes will support this initiative through education and training programmes, scholarships, joint research projects and the development of expertise in artificial intelligence and data science.
By building on an already active partnership and opening new avenues for collaboration, Université Grenoble Alpes reaffirms its commitment to sharing its scientific and academic expertise in support of education, research and innovation, while strengthening ties between the French and Cambodian scientific communities.